What is the difference between a single and double Albert?

A single Albert runs from the T-bar in one direction, with a swivel or dog clip for the watch. A double has two lengths from the bar, the second carrying a fob, a sovereign holder or a second clip. Doubles are a named sub-set in these listings, with around thirty titles calling them double Albert and others simply double watch chain.

How long are guard and muff chains?

Lengths get stated, and they run wide. Guard and muff chains appear at 50, 55, 57, 58, 60, 68 and 78 inches, the longest recorded being a Victorian 15ct trombone-link guard chain. Alberts sit at the other end of the scale, some as short as 12 or 13.5 inches. Long chains in a given metal sit above short necklets in the same metal.

Which gold fineness turns up most?

Nine carat, by a wide margin. It is named in around four hundred titles, against sixty-odd for 18ct and fifty for 15ct. The 15ct pieces skew Victorian, since that standard belongs to the older end of the archive. Rolled gold appears in a smaller run of titles, in 12ct, 15ct and 18ct qualities.

Are there named makers on antique chains?

Not in this category. No chainmaker or manufacturer names came out of the descriptions at all, so chains are sold on metal, weight, link and date rather than on a mark. Assay towns do turn up in titles now and then. Chester is the recurring one, alongside Birmingham, Sheffield and London.

What stones appear on pendant chains?

Diamond leads, in around a hundred titles, then pearl and amethyst. Carat figures get quoted, from under a carat up to figures above eleven, and natural saltwater pearl is a repeated phrase. Amethyst, peridot and pearl together recur as a small suffragette-coloured sub-theme, including a 15ct longuard near the top of the range.

How many chains come up each year?

About 129 a year on Sellingantiques, offered by seventy-two different dealers, which makes this a category almost every jewellery dealer keeps a few of. Of 1,052 listings, 601 carry a clean year. The rest give a period label or nothing firmer.